Smoke Signals 3
MAY 1,2009
Gangs responsible for as much as 80 percent off crime
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal Council member Wink Soderberg talks during the opening remarks
of the Oregon Indian Country Gang Summit at Spirit Mountain Casino on
Thursday, April 16. The summit continued on Friday, April 17.
GANGS continued
from front page
to discuss the health, wellness and
safety of our youth, to provide pre
vention and intervention strategies
from a strength-based approach,"
said Tribal member Lisa Leno, Pre
vention coordinator for the Tribe and
coordinator of the Gang Summit.
"This summit is about the rela
tionship and impact that gangs
have on Native American youth.
This summit will address behav
iors, not individuals."
The two-day conference drew 200
from Tribes, county and state agen
cies. Attendees came to learn more
about gang issues in Native commu
nities, hear ideas for addressing the
problem and to make connections,
find resources and compare notes.
"My goal was to network," said
Wayne Miller (Warm Springs), a
Meth Prevention coordinator at
his Tribe, "and to get more people
involved in prevention, so they can
tell their kids."
Prevention can start in the fam
ily, but so can gang activity.
"We're finding the third genera
tion of gang members in trouble,"
said Becky Halbirt, a parole officer
with Oregon Youth Authority.
While gang members are believed
to include only 1 to 3 percent of a
community's population, they may
be responsible for as much as 80
percent of the crime in an area, ac
cording to the 2009 National Gang
Threat Assessment.
"Gangs are not new," said Tribal
Council member Wink Soderberg,
who also is a member of the Gov
ernor's Meth Task Force and the
Tribal Meth Task Force.
Soderberg described his ex
perience as a youth in boarding
school.
"I found the toughest kid, a Mo
doc Indian, to teach me to fight,"
Soderberg said. "He couldn't teach,
but he could fight and that's how I
learned.
"Because of the gang mentality,
I didn't do anything different until
I was 45 years old."
"You have to look past the faces,"
said Jacob Flores, a psychologist
and gang prevention specialist from
Tucson, Ariz. "These were babies.
They were not born into their be
havior. The seed is perfect. They
are good. The soil is barren."
As a school administrator in
Tucson, Flores said he first wanted
to put gang members in jail, but
"then I visited their homes. I saw
mattresses in bare bedrooms with
sheets that hadn't been washed in
months. I saw them taking care of
their younger brothers and sisters.
You have to open your eyes to what's
going on in your community.
"We have to have forgiveness for
them. You have to do it with an
open hand, not a closed fist."
"It's about touching people who
haven't been touched," said Arthur
Jenkins, a former gang member
now on parole.
"None of us get out of here un
scathed," Flores said. "We all have
our pain."
Jillene Joseph, executive direc
tor of the Gresham-based Native
Wellness Institute, took that one
step further.
"We can't change anyone else,"
Joseph said. "The one person we
can change is ourselves."
Historical trauma still plays a
role, she said. "Some say, 'Move on,'
and yes, that's true, but you first
have to talk about it. There were
150 million Native Americans here
when Europeans arrived. Today,
there are about 4 million."
The oppression that Europeans
brought said to surviving Native
Americans, "It is not OK to be who
you are."
"Historical trauma leads to cur
rent day trauma, and that's the
norm for many Tribal families
today," Joseph said.
"Part of it is to be aware, but we
also have to look for opportunities
for healing and growth, to become
whole. We have to do the work.
"We all have experienced trauma.
The key is what you do about it."
"Some get stuck in the doom and
gloom mode," Joseph added, "but
you have to recognize resiliency.
And we have to provide opportuni
ties that allow resiliency.
"Healthy communities all start
with us. When we choose to live
a healthy lifestyle, we will impact
other people."
"Start with one," said Flores, "the
one that tugs at your heart. If you
get one, you will get more."
"Prosecution alone won't solve the
problem," said Portland-based As
sistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin.
"It's a multi-faceted problem. It
needs a multi-faceted solution."
To that end, the federal govern
ment has created a specialized gang
unit and localized gang task forces
"continued outreach to law en
forcement and the community."
"It's a work in progress," Kerin
said.
In a panel discussion, Tribal
representatives from Oregon, the
Yakama Nation in Washington
state and the Turtle Mountain
Tribe in North Dakota described
Tribal gang experiences, and bar
riers to keeping the worst of these
behaviors under control.
"Our hope is that state, federal
and local communities will hear
what the Tribes are saying," said
Dave Fullerton, Grand Ronde's
Social Services manager.
"I don't know what our gang ac
tivity is," said Tom Younker, vice
chairman of the Coquille Indian
Tribe, "but we're keeping our kids
very occupied." He noted events like
canoe journeys.
"The more you show love to your
kids," Younker said, "that's the only
way of dealing with kids who want
to be loved and be involved."
He said he also believes that the
gang issue is a way for "Tribes
to work together as a total com
munity." The Klamath Tribe has "many
community-awareness and educa
tion programs to create positive
opportunities for families," said
Tribal Council Chair Joe Kirk.
Barriers to success include a high
unemployment rate and denial
about the problem.
"We have to have total commit
ment or it's not going to be fixed,"
Kirk said.
"Culture is prevention," said
DeAnna Pearl, Alcohol and Drug
Prevention counselor for the Confed
erated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.
"Education also is prevention,"
said Rhonda Malone, Social Servic
es director of the Cow Creek Band
of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.
"Grand Ronde has been very
progressive on this issue," said
moderator John Spence, an educa
tor and consultant. "You're on the
right path. That's the reason it
hasn't escalated here."
Members of the Grand Ronde Chi
nook Canoe Family performed.
The event was funded with
$44,000 from a grant from the
Oregon Youth Authority in col
laboration with Marion County
Juvenile Department. Northwest
Gang Investigators Association also
sponsored the event.
The Planning Committee for the
summit included Tribal member Lisa
Leno, Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde; Dave Fullerton, Confeder
ated Tribes of Grand Ronde; Tribal
member Shannon Simi, Confeder
ated Tribes of Grand Ronde; Faye
Fagel, Marion County Juvenile
Department; Christina Puentes,
Oregon Youth Authority; Rhonda
Holder, Polk County Juvenile De
partment; Deborah Krocker, Con
federated Tribes of Grand Ronde;
Tribal member Carmen Merrier,
Confederated Tribe of Grand Ronde;
Violet Folden, Confederated TriWs
of Grand Ronde Elder; and Gladys
1 lolilw, Confederated Trilx-a of Grand
Ronde Elder. B
40 Jife Jfce
. ;
Tribal Elder Betty Bly was among the group of people who attended the Oregon Indian Country Gang Summit.